IT: Welcome to Derry Finally Fixes the ‘Adults Ignore Kids’ Horror Trope

IT: Welcome to Derry is a 1962-set HBO prequel series that follows Charlotte and Leroy Hanlon and their son Will as they arrive in Derry, Maine, just as Pennywise strikes again. The show shifts perspective by following adults and children at the same time, and the creators say they deliberately avoid the common horror trope of adults dismissing children’s fears.

1. Premise and setting
2. How the show subverts the “adults don’t believe kids” trope
3. Casting and key characters
4. Creators’ approach and themes

Premise and setting

IT: Welcome to Derry is a prequel set in 1962. It centers on Charlotte and Leroy Hanlon (played by Taylour Paige and Jovan Adepo) and their son Will (Blake Cameron James), who move to Derry, Maine, where Leroy is stationed. Shortly after their arrival, a local boy is attacked by Pennywise and disappears, which triggers another cycle of deaths in the town.

How the show subverts the “adults don’t believe kids” trope

The series co-creators, Barbara and Andy Muschietti, intentionally avoid the familiar plot device where adults ignore children’s warnings. For example, Barbara Muschietti said, “We hate that trope.” Meanwhile, Andy Muschietti added, “I think there’s normal reluctance, because it’s also the ‘60s, but we tried to speed up through that process, which is so frustrating for audiences.”

Consequently, the Hanlon family is placed at the center of the early story, and the show moves more quickly to have adults take children’s fears seriously. At the same time, the series explores parallel threats: entrenched bigotry in the town and the supernatural presence of Pennywise. In some episodes, the creators suggest that social evils and racism inform the town’s darkness and even the monster’s influence.

Casting and key characters

Principal cast members include:

• Taylour Paige as Charlotte Hanlon — a former activist with a history of arrests.
• Jovan Adepo as Leroy Hanlon — a military man newly stationed near Derry.
• Blake Cameron James as Will Hanlon — the Hanlons’ son who begins to experience eerie events.
• Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann — a character previously seen in The Shining.

Charlotte’s background as an activist and the family’s tight bond are written as reasons why the adults are quicker to believe something is wrong. As Taylour Paige put it, “Is it because they’re Black?” Paige asks, before answering her own question.“There’s a natural empathy because you also have something on your neck. So when kids are passionate about something and come to you, you may have a sensitivity of not being believed, to suffering and screaming for help, and people not batting an eyelash.”

Creators’ approach and themes

According to the creators and cast, the show balances supernatural horror with social commentary. Andy Muschietti said, “There is a sensibility that I can attribute to the sensitivity of the times of a family in that culture, at that time, they probably faced a lot of adversity,” and added, “And that’s why it’s a very tight family, in spite of their own differences, which are very clear.”

The series emphasizes different adult perspectives within the Hanlon household: Charlotte’s willingness to confront injustice and Leroy’s desire to keep a low profile due to his military role. Andy Muschietti described this as, “There’s a bit of a fracture of worldview within that family that is important,” and noted, “Yet still, they stick together against adversity.”

Finally, Jovan Adepo commented on the choice to avoid unnecessary gaslighting in the story: “Andy and Barbara are just way too smart not to continue that trope if it’s not necessary,” he says. “They’re making an edgier choice of letting the parents get in on the juiciness as well.”